For those who have interest in or wish to support efforts to restore and preserve The Readfield Union Meeting House, a cultural landmark, for future generations of Readfield residents, Maine citizens and visitors from other states.

National Register of Historic Places

A national treasure built in 1827 to accommodate a union of different faiths

About Me

Followers

Friday, February 21, 2014

At the end of 2013 the
Union Meeting House sent out a mailing to all its members reminding them that
the 2013-14 membership year was half done and urging all to renew for the
current year. At the same time -- thanks to the kindness of Flo Drake and the
Board of the Readfield Historical Society -- a mailing was sent to all members
of the Society. It was undertaken since both the UMH and RHS have a shared
interest of preserving Readfield's history. The response was encouraging and a
number of new members were added to the UMH's rolls. Thank you all. Naturally,
the UMH will make its membership list available to the RHS.

A copy of the UMH newsletter that was mailed
in November is available to all who request it. Write or call at the address
below.

The UMH has seventeen windows and during the
past years the Board has been moving along in having them restored since they
had not received much attention for several decades. In February the restorer,
Joseph Caputo of East Pittston, who has done the restoration of all the windows
to date, took out the two in the apse. They were in rough condition, with
broken glass and severely eroded and weathered sashes. He will work on them
this winter and have them back in place this spring.

This restoration is made
possible by a most generous gift from Mrs. Nancy Durgin of Readfield. The Board
of the Meeting House thanks Nancy for stepping forward to fund the complete
rebuilding of these two windows. A memorial plaque will be placed on them this
spring.

Otherwise, the Meeting is buttoned up tight
for the winter. At its February meeting next week the Board will review what income
has been generated and discuss what projects it can afford to undertake this
year. A report on what is decided will be forthcoming in the next Messenger column. In the meantime, think spring!